Aurora teen who had marijuana mailed to him gets jail, probation
An Aurora teen was sentenced to 30 days in jail and three years of probation this week after admitting to accepting a package in the mail containing several pounds of marijuana.
Juanpablo Ruiz, 19, of the 1900 block of Robert Street, was arrested Feb. 28, 2017, and charged with several felonies, including trafficking of more than 5,000 grams of marijuana, which is the equivalent of about 11 pounds.
Ruiz was arrested after postal inspectors flagged a package and alerted authorities, who obtained a search warrant an executed it after Ruiz accepted the package via U.S. mail at a home on the 100 block of Hamlet Circle in Montgomery, according to the Kane County sheriff's office. The package contained about 11 to 12 pounds of marijuana, officials said.
The charge carried a prison term of up to 30 years if convicted with no probation.
Ruiz pleaded guilty to the reduced charge of possession of 2,500 grams to 5,000 grams of marijuana, a felony that carried a punishment of up to 15 years in prison with probation an option.
In the plea agreement accepted by Judge D.J. Tegeler, prosecutors dismissed remaining charges.
Ruiz also must pay $29,315 in court costs and fines, of which $25,000 is a drug fine from the arrest and conviction, records show.
Defense attorney Matt Downs said his client had no previous criminal record, works hard, plays soccer and is going to college. Downs said his client made a grave mistake, learned from it, and will abide by the probation terms.
"He is a very nice kid from a nice family who made a very big mistake, a large lapse in judgment," Downs said.
If Ruiz violates probation, he could be resentenced to more probation, jail or prison.